The Central Bank says it received 200 protected disclosures from whistleblowers last year, including one from one of its own employees.

The figures are contained in a report which public bodies are required to prepare and publish each year setting out the number of protected disclosures made to them.

Identity

The bank can receive protected disclosures under two separate pieces of legislation: the Protected Disclosures Act 2014; and Part 5 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013.

The Central Bank has a legal obligation to protect the identity of the person who makes a protected disclosure and not to disclose any information that might identify the reporting person, though there are some exceptions to this.

Actions

In addition, when a disclosure is made about a financial services firm, the bank does not inform the firm involved.

“Actions taken on foot of information received as a protected disclosure include undertaking additional supervisory work such as on-site inspections, requiring a firm to fix issues and putting firms under higher supervisory focus,” the Central Bank said.